SRO Has “Long-Term” Commitment to Indy 8H

Photo: Fabian Lagunas/SRO

SRO Motorsports Group has a “long-term” commitment to Indianapolis Motor Speedway according to SRO America President and CEO Greg Gill, who along with Stephane Ratel, are adamant that the arrival of an IMSA endurance race in 2024 will not have an impact on the Indianapolis 8 Hour presented by AWS.

Now in its third year, the joint Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli and Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS enduro has continued to innovate, with Saturday’s race set to end in darkness, a first for the iconic facility that was first opened in 1909.

“We’re very happy to be here,” Ratel told Sportscar365. “I think also last year I was pushing everyone saying, ‘We should do a race at night. It would add some flavor and would be nicer.’

“Thanks to Greg and his team and to [IMS track president] Doug Boles and they did it.

“When I started pushing for it, I thought, ‘Night has never been done there. Maybe I’m a bit ambitious. This is an institution!’

“Somehow we’re going to do the first-ever [night] race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. We can be a bit proud of that.”

While this year’s field of 25 cars — all comprised of GT3 machinery for the first time — is down on numbers from last year, Ratel has attributed that to the decline in international entries that typically follows the globe-trotting IGTC series.

Four IGTC manufacturers are nominated this weekend but only three — Mercedes-AMG, Ferrari and Lamborghini — have Pro cars on the grid.

What’s more, only three international teams have made the commitment to this year’s race, largely due to continued logistical and cost-related challenges from Europe.

“IGTC has had a hard time because we’ve been impacted for three years,” Ratel said.

“In 2020 when [COVID-19] hit. 2021, when it was even worse. In fact it was harder for us then with Omicron popping up and having to push Kyalami to February and having Bathurst pushed to May.

“In terms of manufacturers’ commitment, it’s been at the lowest ever. We can be very happy that Mercedes and Ferrari are here and that Lamborghini, thanks to K-PAX, has maintained a presence.

“Porsche is unfortunately not here [in Pro]. We’ve lost some steam from the list, I can say.

“I think considering the limited number of international cars, the grid, 25 cars, isn’t bad, when we only have four foreign cars.

“It’s frustrating because the U.S. part of the grid has grown up but the international contingent is very limited.

“We have to hope that the American grid — which if you look at it over the last three years has been going up — will continue to grow, and that the international contingent will go back to what it was.

“Then we’d have a 40-car grid. That’s the idea.”

The Indy event is on both the SRO America and IGTC calendars again for next year, although Gill nor Ratel would confirm if they have a contract beyond 2024.

Sportscar365 understands that track owner Roger Penske was on-site for meetings on Friday.

“We are definitely here next year and we are looking forward to a long-term relationship,” Gill said.

When asked if IMSA’s return to the Brickyard next year, and plans for the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship to hold a long-distance endurance race beginning in 2024 could have any impact on SRO’s event, Gill said “not at all.”

“The Speedway has been very clear that they are looking forward to working with both organizations,” he said.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John